Just a few new posts today, including some clarifications on the new changes with Battle.net Authenticators. Players will no longer be prompted for authenticator codes when logging in from a "familiar" location (as tracked and determined by Blizzard). I assume this means it will simply recognize your local IP and no longer prompt for an authenticator code as persistently, which won't help much in protecting your account from family members or criminals who break into your home to hack your Warcraft account. Those exist, right?

Blizzard has also posted a new installment of their "Then and Now" character retrospective series, featuring Anduin Wrynn. In addition, we've got a new short story in the Leaders of Azeroth series, featuring none other than Gelbin Mekkatorque, leader of the gnomes! Alliance players rejoice, this lore's all for you!

Battle.net Authenticator Changes

Nevalistis

If you use an authenticator – and we hope you do – you may soon notice that an authenticator prompt may not appear with every login. We’ve recently updated our authentication system to intelligently track your login locations, and if you’re logging in consistently from the same place, you may not be asked for an authenticator code. This change is being made to make the authenticator process less intrusive when we’re sure the person logging in to your account is you.

We hope to continue improving the authenticator system to ensure the same or greater security, while improving and adding features to make having one a more user friendly experience. If you don’t already have a Battle.net Authenticator attached to your account, don’t wait until it’s too late - http://us.battle.net/en/security/checklist

If you have comments, concerns, or feedback regarding this change, please visit this thread to voice them so we can consolidate your thoughts. Thanks!

Anduin Wrynn: Then and Now

Blizzard Entertainment

Fortified citadels lie in ruins. Once-verdant forests burn brightly in the twilight of the setting sun. And arid stretches of desert, known to have claimed even the hardiest of travelers, now house fertile oases.

The breaking of Azeroth changed a great many things. While the altered landscapes of the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor may be the most noticeable evidence of Deathwing's violent return, many of Azeroth's heroes have also undergone drastic physical and mental transformations of their own.

Recently, we focused on how the Cataclysm has affected the lives of the accomplished shaman Thrall and the new Horde warchief, Garrosh Hellscream. Today we examine Anduin Wrynn, son of King Varian, and the indelible impact that the great changes sweeping Azeroth have had on this young man.

Although only a teenager, Stormwind's prince, Anduin, has persevered through numerous trials and tribulations, such as being kidnapped by the scheming black dragon Onyxia. His greatest challenge, however, might lie in his relationship with Varian. Anduin is no stranger to his father's love and affection, but he is constantly wary of sudden outbursts from Varian's violent, gladiatorial side. Anduin has also struggled against his father's insistence that he become a warrior.

Events just prior to the Cataclysm signaled a new chapter in Anduin's life. While undergoing martial training in the dwarven bastion of Ironforge, Anduin witnessed as Moira Thaurissan—the estranged daughter of the late King Magni Bronzebeard—held the city hostage with a contingent of Dark Iron dwarves. Despite being the legal heir to Ironforge, she drew the ire of Varian for her heavy-handed tactics. Before long, the king and a team of SI:7 agents infiltrated the city, intent on killing the brash dwarf heiress. Only through Anduin's wise and resolute intervention did Varian stay his hand and spare Moira's life, thus averting a political disaster that might have ignited a dwarven civil war.

During his time in Ironforge, Anduin also discovered his true calling in life: to be a priest devoted to the tenets of the Holy Light. For those who know Anduin well, this discipline is a perfect fit for the prince, who has consistently proven himself to be compassionate and thoughtful. No longer the child-prince of Stormwind from years past, Anduin is fast becoming his own man with the courage to speak up for what he believes in. He does not share Varian's outright hatred and mistrust of the Horde. On one occasion, he even imparted sage advice to the tauren chieftain Baine Bloodhoof after the death of his father, Cairne. Yet in Azeroth's current state of turmoil, it is unknown whether Anduin's destiny with the Light will proceed on its current course, or whether his path will take a different turn.

We'll be examining other key characters' transformations—including those of Magni Bronzebeard—in the months ahead, so come back soon.

Leaders of the Horde and Alliance - Gelbin Mekkatorque

Blizzard Entertainment

After long years of patiently enduring and biding their time under the hospitality of their dwarven allies, the gnomes have rallied for one final, valiant attempt to reclaim their rightful home. They now face a battle against the twisted genius of a betrayer, one who is maniacally obsessed with ruling over the gnomish race… or destroying it entirely. With their allies hard-pressed to survive in the aftermath of the Cataclysm, the gnomes must rely upon cunning, cleverness, and courage to take back what is theirs.

Leading this desperate charge is High Tinker Gelbin Mekkatorque, the brilliant and resourceful inventor who has guided the gnomes through their darkest hours. Now he stands on the razor's edge between personal vengeance and true leadership – to face a test that none of his calculations could have ever prepared him for.

Gelbin took a step forward and scanned the room. Maybe if he could get to the other side of the study quick enough, there would be a stool that could become a makeshift weapon. If he could keep the trogg at bay, perhaps he would be able to escape through the opening it had just come through. It would be risky, but it was the best –

Two more troggs shambled into the light. The first one grunted guttural commands to the other two, and they moved to either side of their prey with a feral swiftness that belied their bulk.

The wall lowered behind them with a foreboding clang, and Gelbin felt a sad clarity: he was going to die here.

Blizzard Entertainment is proud to present the latest entry in the Leaders of Azeroth short story series: "Cut Short"!

Comments

Comment by Adamsm

Comment by Interest

I like that they updated their authentication system. They could already detect locations where people were logging in from, so this was a long time coming.

Comment by SaintStryfe

on 2011/06/16 17:52:42

The Mekkatorque story is by far my favorite so far. It actually lets me see a different side of the character, and a fight where the character's best atributes have been brought out. Plus making Troggs a threat is no mean feat being how stupid they are.

Comment by Chaosrock

on 2011/06/16 17:52:45

I love the authenticator changes! Not having to type in that code every single time will be a welcomed relief.

Comment by dascl

on 2011/06/16 17:54:15

So now instead of just installing keyloggers, hackers will install keyloggers and tunnels. Brilliant, nice one Blizzard.

Seriously, I want to be authenticated every single time.

Comment by Rakeghoul

on 2011/06/16 18:00:02

I love the authenticator changes! Not having to type in that code every single time will be a welcomed relief.

I would rather enter my auth # every time instead of when I go to class or to a friends house and log in there, have to change my password. I think that if you have an authenticator attached to your account, you shouldn't have to change your password every time your IP changes.

Comment by jynxycat

on 2011/06/16 18:13:23

I love the authenticator changes! Not having to type in that code every single time will be a welcomed relief.

I would rather enter my auth # every time instead of when I go to class or to a friends house and log in there, have to change my password. I think that if you have an authenticator attached to your account, you shouldn't have to change your password every time your IP changes.

what?

At any rate. This is similar to the phone authorization setup they have right now. If you log in from a location that isn't normally where you log in from, it triggers. I switched to this, because having to dig out my phone any time I logged in just got fairly tedious. Makes sense.

Comment by joequincy

on 2011/06/16 18:15:54

I find it hilarious that people instantly assume that THING I JUST THOUGHT OF IN TEN SECONDS USING KEYWORDS I FOUND ON THE INTERNET hasn't been considered by a company like Blizzard (with its many talented developers) when they're considering improvements to a security tool.

Come on. Give them a little credit. Don't b**** until you've thought of a flaw that it took you at least five whole minutes to invent.People. Sheesh.

Comment by joequincy

on 2011/06/16 18:24:52

what?

If you log in from a location that Blizz doesn't recognize, even using your authenticator, you get a nice little message (in the game client) saying your account has been locked because they suspect it's not you, and please check your email to unlock it.

Ran into this the other day when I tried to log in from work on a particularly slow day. Took a call to Blizz to figure out that it was just standard behavior and that there wasn't something weird where someone logged in from across the country... just the difference of 100 yards and the change of ISP between my apartment and the office. >.<

Comment by JaseDakota

on 2011/06/16 18:27:57

Yeah, I'm hoping for an option to keep it asking for my auth number every time. I'd feel tons safer that way. It's not exactly inconvenient to have to type in a few numbers. And that far outweighs the risks of having everything I've put into WoW being stolen and my guild being completely theifed.

Comment by sumpsychochic

on 2011/06/16 18:30:46

what?

If you log in from a location that Blizz doesn't recognize, even using your authenticator, you get a nice little message (in the game client) saying your account has been locked because they suspect it's not you, and please check your email to unlock it.

Ran into this the other day when I tried to log in from work on a particularly slow day. Took a call to Blizz to figure out that it was just standard behavior and that there wasn't something weird where someone logged in from across the country... just the difference of 100 yards and the change of ISP between my apartment and the office. >.<

Yup, I have run into this a few times too. Quite annoying to have an authenticator on my account and have to change my password when I go to a friends house or on campus. I would rather enter the authenticator every time and have that stop popping up every time. If someone has my authenticator, I have much bigger problems to worry about since it is on my iPhone.

Comment by TheSunthorn

on 2011/06/16 19:09:46

I don't think I like that authenticator change. I want to have to authenticate on every single login. I'd rather not have to log in to Blizzard and authenticate just because I'm looking up an armory profile. I don't get why I have to do that.

Comment by joequincy

on 2011/06/16 19:11:35

I don't think I like that authenticator change. I want to have to authenticate on every single login. I'd rather not have to log in to Blizzard and authenticate just because I'm looking up an armory profile. I don't get why I have to do that.

What.You want to have to use the authenticator every time you log in. You don't want to use the authenticator every time you log in.

Which is it? What is your stance?

Comment by EnhancementGreft

on 2011/06/16 19:26:25

I don't think I like that authenticator change. I want to have to authenticate on every single login. I'd rather not have to log in to Blizzard and authenticate just because I'm looking up an armory profile. I don't get why I have to do that.

What.You want to have to use the authenticator every time you log in. You don't want to use the authenticator every time you log in.

Which is it? What is your stance?

What TheSunthorn means by his statement is that he wants to authenticate every time he logs into the game, but not every time he logs in on the Battle.Net services such as armory, remote AH, etc.

At least I think so.

On Topic: Woot! I loved the role that Anduin played in the Shattering, and the authenticator changes seem like a step in increasing account security while reducing hassle on the players.

Comment by Adrazel

on 2011/06/16 19:57:41

I'm actually rather mixed on the changes. On one hand, not having to authenticate after every DC (which is a common problem as of late when switching between characters or servers it seems) will be nice, but it's still nice to know that my account is secure.

Anduin has become one of my favorite NPCs with Cata. The Alliance quest arch that leads into Twilight Highlands with him is such a great insight to the depth of his character and who he's becoming.

Comment by Monday

on 2011/06/16 19:57:44

I kinda like the authenticator change. Makes it easier to log in for me.

Comment by Lolus

on 2011/06/16 20:19:12

Guess won't make a difference for people who VPN (which means Blizz has no way to know your real location)

Comment by devvy

on 2011/06/16 21:53:28

I don't ever have to log into Battle.net to look at armory...

Explore>WoW>type name in search bar...

Comment by jumbodog

on 2011/06/16 22:01:19

I'm opposed to the new authenticator change because I'm a firm believer in the KISS principle (keep it simple stupid). An authenticator is a simple implementation of two factor authentication. Only the person who knows the account name/password and has physical possession of the authenticator gets into the account. It's a trivial process to physically secure my authenticator. It's not so trivial to secure my computer.

I appreciate Blizzard's desire to make the account authentication both safe and easy. However, my account has been hacked and having an authenticator brings me great peace of mind. It's simple and I control it. That's a virtue. If other people prefer the new system that's fine with me. I'd prefer to opt out.

Comment by Serkac

on 2011/06/17 00:22:50

I've done a little bit of my own trying to learn about this new change. Apparently the game system puts in a key, a unique one I might add (meaning that computer A wouldn't be the same as computer B), into the system registry. Remove the key and the game will ask for the authenticator.

The biggest problem that I can think of, apart from the above, is that it does allow me multiple cached keys between my computers. In other words it won't look at the last computer I logged into and declare it to be the one usable without said authenticator.